October 5, 2007

A global survey shows that marketers already regard digital tools asvery important for advertising and for managing sales and service--butfrequently don't use them. Why? Although respondents are applyingboth established and Web 2.0 technologies to reach customers at everystage of decision making, they complain about a shortage of skilledpeople to run online vehicles and about a lack of metrics to assessthem.

A McKinsey global survey of marketers shows that companies are using digital tools—from Web sites to wikis—most extensively for customer service, least in pricing. Two-thirds are using digital tools for product development, almost as many as are advertising online.

Respondents consider online ads to be as useful for brand building as for direct response. Spending is expected to increase on all types of online advertising vehicles over the next three years.

In 2010 just over half of all respondents expect their companies to be getting 10 percent or more of their sales from online channels—twice as many companies as have hit that mark today. And 11 percent expect to be spending a majority of their advertising budgets online by then.

Most companies today don’t integrate their online and offline marketing efforts; companies that use online tools across the full spectrum of marketing activities are much more likely to do so.

Register free online to The McKinsey Quaterly to discover respondents’ views on digital-marketing tools and techniques.